Electrical switch



Dec. l3, 1927.

L. W. AUGE ELECTRICAL swn'cn Filed April 28, 1921 gun HEW? HHHIHHIIHIHHIHlHlHIIIllIIIHIHIHHHIHIHIIHHHHHHHHH W a; 5g 24 2a 39 S 6 6 w W attain Patented Dec. 13, 1927.

oniren STATES V 1,t52,223 PATENT oFFI-ciz;

LOUIS WILLIAM AUGE, OF RAHWAY, NEW JERSEY;

ELECTRICAL SWITCH.

Application filed April 28, 1921. I Serial No. 465,189.

This invention relates to electric lighting systems and in particular to the"lighting systems of motor vehicles;

An important objectof the inventionis to provide for conveniently controlling'the headlights i. e. changing from brightto dim one of the hands "of 't'hje'j'driver' whereby the switch may 'be actuated "wi'tl outfirem'oving either hand from'the steering wheel According to the present inventiont when the lighting systemis on, the instrument board light and the'taiHight are always in circuit regardless of the. changing of the conditions of th'efheadlight, and when the switch is manipulated to put out'tlie' instrument board -light and theta'il light, all lights areofi'. The push buttonsflor'pusli elements for controlling'theconditions of the headlights are associated so that when either of said elements is'mannally moved to close one of the circuits 'the other element is moved to open the other circuit, whereby the changing from bright to dim 'and vice versa is quickly accomplished by the operation of a single element,thereby reducing to the minimum the dark period which ordinarily occurs in changing from bright to dim and vice versa.

With these and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully describech' illustrated in the accompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it of course being understood that changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details may be made, within the scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing: V

Figure 1 is a plan view of a steering wheel with the switch of the present invention applied thereto. V

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic View of a conventional form of an electric lighting system for motor vehicles havingthe switchof the present invention incorporated therein.

I Figure 3 is a side elevation of the present switch, with the casing broken away.

' F igure 4 is an"enlargediside"elevation showing the operating 'p'a rts'gof the present Figure 5 is ac oss sectional view on" the l1ne55 ofFigu're' t. i

Figure .6 is a crosssectional view on the- I line Figure iif F re.- flit f a m aryswan of a deta'ilQL I The switch of the; p clud Y non-condiictjijng Wbrkr these i e ?ITQ fii Qi 1. has

outer'eend operating s' a stop Qforengagement' with-the 'body'l fi li niit e'nd ie movementof the plunger' no direction;-

' 1 I The inid'y' of thefpli inger is formfed "of non-conducting mate i I and is provided with a redu'ce'd" 'nriet-al j'or; other suitable material fs idfi hankfbeg is Pr vided at t lei e 5 1 ith et p'roj ection for enlargement :31: The opposite side foftfthe shank: is provided"with the notches or "s eats4f fand""5. '{At'on'e side 'ofthe shank there subs i'ally L sha ped: Contact member fi 'hav'in epen'dingg'free rm; which 'is'ii'esilierit e1 1 'gii'sposed inthe P .i the 'ii dil efia At'fth PPbs t side of the s'ha nkiis anothenc'ontact Inem ber'7. Each of "the contacts Inembersis 5ecured; to the underside of the base or body 1 by a suitable fastening, such as ascreW indicated are; The" contact 7 has its de pending free arrn' bent to" form a 'substan may V -shaped lateral 'projctiori'9 normall in frictional fconta'ct with: the'shank 2 and designed to snap into there'spective seats 4 and 5 to limit" the 'movementof the plunger in opposite directions. 3

As the pin; gers B nd .o -are duplicates'in construction andfoperation, a detailed description of one of them is deemed 'suflicient.

ReferringttoFigure" 5, it 'will be"seen that the plunger C is pro id d With ashank 10 of conducting materi'ahl and at opposite sides of the shank arecontact members 11 and 12' corresponding to the contact/members 6 and 7 shown in Figure ,6. Each o'f these contact members is connect-ed-to th'e body 1 by asuitable fasten'ingfl8r. The depending a rrn of the contact 11 is provided atits lower end with a foot or lateral projection .13 underlyingthe bottom'o'f the shank 10 and in the path thereof so as to close an electriq circui t when the shank andtbe projection lag-come i itgcontact. The Contact 12 is provided with a substantiully V-shaped shoulder or projection 14 in frictional engagement-with theshank-"" and designed to snap into the respective notches l5 and 1G in the shank to limitendwise movement of the entire plunger in .Qp; posite directions. It will here beexplai'ned that. the contact 9 and the contacts l2 are all on one and thesame.sideofth-respective plungers, as will be understood by reference to F igure of the drawing, the sectional "iews 5 and 6 being taken inopposite d i rections.

'7 As hereinbefore indicated, tl' ieplu ngers andare ee te or; assw e ed' thfite of tlieni'will be mored'to' its witlidi'awnlp osi; tion when the other is puslredio itsinner position, and this opera tionui s acco pljsl ed i h fs lQ' 1 gne T e h tlQn the P ee m as s ewe l y-a min.

a of, e el ne te l reeketl i ksl l' enez 18 eaclrof 'whic'lris; in} the tempt 25,..plate. pr id d at; rclijexidj wit-he: longitudinal, l b fu c t j' fi. re ime. a. e pe... p rtion. o e. adje ei i hiiek we e: duced mm; of the l e QLk-i s weed? by, o ehesi' f rme in npds'ifi -f e the shank, the top and hpttpbn .wall s, o teach net-r e ng. b te 'a 1y ihawl as ndh jateee 2 l-epd as (as. erredne ee ke' fi d b riii we rin the W195 and; bo ms. tl h 6kiz bat-tierti' n whi hses s g he te iini l' leek? l ll-Pelee; iars-er e i b ween Pai bi erased. hangers or brackets, depending ba -r be yle provid d i h. We 9a. yix e between h wake! b =1 As-th sQhrdesfl the.c@. .p et v a tee of the plungers B and will, e understood by referenceto Figures ,3 and 4.. As indi}: a e in u e th -Pl nge Be d. each at its outer limit,. the rocker. bars 17. and 18 v are substantially horizontal,; and the. lower rockenhar 18 is adjacent or/incontactl with th e .cr0ss bar 23.. O npressingudownwardly uponthe plunger. C the ends {of the; rocker bars associated with C will. move. wn a y e pos ti ns hew ie F s ure 4, said rocker bars rockingoll theirbearings pn the shank of; tlieplunger, B, the latter being held against downward displacementby the, resilient. contact member. 14; ena i g thenpt h i n heha k n ma e-i'ei g the P nge B i fi p l ppe position It will therefore. be, understood that the part1; not onlyloo'nstitutes' anelectrical'contact but also constitutes means. for ldi g he p u e B gemstn r inoyeinent when the pl m er C'is forced downwardly. In Figurel it. willbe noted I that theupper rocker bar 1,? hasbeen moved downwardly in contact with the cross bar or abutment. 3 9 h t. en. th p u B s erecd erdly or doi i a'anlly, the rock bar 17 willi be melted on" the part 23 as a lulcrum, whereby the plunger C will be clcvated when the plunger B is depressed. It

willof course beundrtood that the positions of all of the moving parts are reversed when the plunger B has been depressed.

The plungers Band C as a pair are associated with the plunger A so that there is mutual-controlof each by. the other, accomplished in the followingmanner. Depend ing from the base orbody l and disposed between the plunger- A, and. the. adjacent plunger -B. ar.e hangers. or bracket arms 24 between which extends a rocker arm or. arm 2.; fulcrumed between its ends as at. 26 upon bracket arrns. Qne endiof the rocker. arm 25'underlies the plunger. Aand. is provided, with atransverise shoulder 27 lying against or inclose. proximity to. the lower end. of the shanlro fi the; plunger. The: other end of the rocker. bar. 25.; is p rfo'yideal, v witlra pa r fjup tan ng fie' s Q -r i; o .s.-28 and 29 underlying, and inclose proximity to. therocker bar 18.

YVitli the parts arrangpd as, shown, in F igure. 3, the plunger: A being pushed. iri ,.the. plu ngers BzandG heing pushedopt.and-each of'the threerocker bars being in a substantiallyhoriz ontal dispo siti on fthe several; electric circuits, which, will hereinafter. be described. ersze kp smsaw ll be nd ood-by re a ,0. Eigl rs. .5 and, ifigh c'r i e. t e, shanks. 1 5 .of the. plungers:B and-.6 are-quhof en'- g 'em t w h' h s peqti e e te t f and the shanlr ofithe plunger A. is out. ofgeniag men th; ts Con a t .6... I By p sin ownwardly upo n either of. the. plungers, B o C, h -where one i l; ro.cked,.and the. lower rockerghar 1 8-con1es into engagement with one or the other of the shoulders or pr0ject-i0ns28,.and 29. onithe rocker 25, whereby the latter. will be rocked. sothatits shoulder. 27. will. push upwardly the plunger. A; until its. shank. portion 3 coinesiinto engagement with the contact 6 and the spring contact. Q'lS snapped into the seat- 5, whereupon the circuitcontrolled by the plunger A. will be closed; and. another circuit will be closed, according to which of. the plungers B-or. C has been depressed, andthe bottom of its shank .broughtiilt iengagement with the foot or projection 13 of its contact member 11.

In the position of the parts as shown in Figure 4, the circuits controlled by the plungersuetand C will be closed. while the circuit controlledhythe plunger B is 0 en. Downward pressure upon the plungeu to close its circuit will effect an upward move ment of the plunger C and a consequent opening of the circuit controlled by the plunger C. lVhen the plunger B is deprcssed, the rocker bar 17 will immediately start to elevate-the plunger C, and. i s? right hand end of the rocker 18 will be lifted by the shank of the plunger C, and the left hand end of the rocker 18 will be lowered by the shank of the plunger B, such operation of the rocker 18 having no etlect to disturb the rocker 25 which will remain in its inclined position with its shoul der 27 adjacent to or in contact with the shank'ot the plunger A.

With the plunger C depressed as in F igure 4, depression of the plunger A will move the plunger Cto its outer position, through the operation of the rocker 25, and then the parts will be in the positions shown in Figure 3 which is the normal position of the parts with all circuits open.

In the practical application of the present switch to automobile lighting systems, I pro pose to mount the switch on the steering wheel, a conventional form of which has been shown at 30 in Figure 1 of the drawing. The switch may be clipped or otherwise secured to one of the spokes of the wheel or to the rim thereof as desired. By reference to Figure 2 of the drawings, it will be seen that the contacts 9 and 12 are associated with a conductor 31 carried by the base 1 and leading from a binding post 32,

the latter being connected to a battery 33 which is in turn grounded in the usual man ner. A conductor 34 leads from the contact 6 to a binding post 35, from which leads a conductor 36 which is grounded as shown and has included therein lights, such for instance as an instrument board light 37 and a tail-light 38. The contact 11 of the plunger B is associated with a conductor 39 leading to a binding post-4O from which a conductor 41 leads to dimmer lights 42, each of which is grounded in the usual manner. From the contact 11 of the plunger C a conductor 44 leads to a binding post 45 from which a conductor 46 leads to headlights 47 which are grounded in the usual manner.

lVith the switch incorporated in electric circuits, as shown in Figure 2, it will be seen that with the plunger A pushed downwardly as in Figures 3 and 6, the circuit including the instrument board light 37 and the tail-light 38 is open. The pushing down of the plunger A lifts the plungers B and C, each of which will have the position as shown in Figure 5 of the drawing, whereby the headlight circuit and the dimmer circuit will each be open. By pressing downwardly upon the plunger C, the headlight circuit may be closed so as to produce a bright headlight and at the same time the rocker arm 25 will be actuated. the plunger A elevated and its circuit closed to energize the taillight and the instrument board light. By pressing downwardly upon the plunger B, which will in turn elevate the plunger C, the bright headlight circuit will be opened and the dimmer circuit will be closed thereby changing practically instantaneously from bright to dim and reducing to the minimum the usual dark period occurring between said changes.

lVith all of the circuitsopen, the instrution with a plurality'of positively movableplungers forming switch members, contacts provided for cooperation with each of said plungers, means associated with two of said plungers, which make contact when moved in one-direction, to effect the reverse operation of one by the positive operation of the other, and means associated with a third plunger, which makes contact when moved in the opposite direction, said last named means being adapted to be operated by said third plunger to cause a reverse operation of either of said first two plungers, said means also being adapted to be reversely operated by either of said first two plungers.

2. In a switch mechanism, the combination with a plurality of positively movable plungers forming switch members, contacts provided for cooperation with each of said plungers, all of said plungers being adapted to be spaced from said contacts upon the positive operation of one of said plungers, means associated with two other of said plungers for causing a reverse operation of one upon a positive operation of the other, and means associated with all three of said plungers whereby a positive operation of either of said two plungers causes said first named plunger to engage with its contact.

3. In combination, a switch mechanism including a plurality of positively operated plungers and contacts provided for cooperation with eachof said plungers, two of said plungers being associated to effect reverse operation of either plunger by the operation of the other, and a third plunger being associated with said two plungers to effect reverse operation of either the third plunger or the said two plunger-s as a unit by the selective operation of either of said two plungers or said third plunger.

4. In a switch mechanism, the combination of a plurality of positively actuated switch members, contacts provided for each of said switch members, a rocker connection for two of the switch members, and a rocker connection between the third switch member and the rocker connection of said two switch members for returning either of said first two switch menmers to open position.

5. In a switch mechanism, the combination of a plurality of positively actuated plunger switches, a pair of spaced rockers loo connecting two of the plunger switches, a fulcruni disposedbetween the spaced roclgeis with which said rockers successively engage, and another rocker fulcrumed between its ends and having its ends associated with'gthe thirdplunger and one of said pair of rockers respectively.

6. In a switch mechanism, the combination of a plurality of positively actuated plunger switches and cooperating contacts for each of said switches, a pair OfgSPICGd rockers connecting two of the,- plunger switches, a fulcrum disposed between the spaced rockers and with which-said rockers successively engage, and another rocker fulcrun'ied between its ends and .liaving= 0ne end associated-with a third plunger and the other end with one of said pair of rockers respectively,;spid third .plunger being capable of being withdrawn from its rocker without actuating the same.

.7. A nelectric switch comprising a base,- three plungers working therethrough, inner. and outer contacts foreach plunger, rocker means connecting a pairpf plungers for mutual; operation in o'ppositedirections, a bracket carried by the baseend' having a fulcrum for said rocker-. n'eans, another br'aclget on; said -base,; and another rocker fu lcrnm ed on gsa'id-ohher bracket and haying- ;ends associated with the rocker;means of: the fsa-id, pai r of; plungers and the third plunger; respectively for returning either of said pair of plung ers toyinitial osition.

Q =Ins im nywhe feefi l-=. fii my gnatur LOUIS VILLIAM AUGE'. 

